The total number of deaths includes from 9 to 11 million military personnel. The civilian death toll was about 8 million, including about 6 million due to war-related famine and disease. The Triple Entente (also known as the Allies) lost about 6 million military personnel while the Central Powers lost about 4 million. At least 2 million died from diseases and 6 million went missing, presumed dead. This article lists the casualties of the belligerent powers based on official published sources.

About two-thirds of military deaths in World War I were in battle, unlike the conflicts that took place in the 19th century when the majority of deaths were due to disease. Nevertheless, disease, including the 1918 flu pandemic and deaths while held as prisoners of war, still caused about one third of total military deaths for all belligerents.

Casualty statistics for World War I vary to a great extent; estimates of total deaths range from 9 million to over 15 million.[1] Military casualties reported in official sources list deaths due to all causes, including an estimated 7 to 8 million combat related deaths (killed or died of wounds) and another two to three million military deaths caused by accidents, disease and deaths while prisoners of war. Official government reports listing casualty statistics were published by the United States and Great Britain.[2][3] These secondary sources published during the 1920s, are the source of the statistics in reference works listing casualties in World War I.[4][5][6][7][8] This article summarizes the casualty statistics published in the official government reports of the United States and Great Britain as well as France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Russia. More recently the research of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) has revised the military casualty statistics of the UK and its allies; they include in their listing of military war dead personnel outside of combat theaters and civilians recruited from Africa, the Middle East and China who provided logistical and service support in combat theaters.[9][10][11][12][13] The casualties of these support personnel recruited outside of Europe were previously not included with British war dead, however the casualties of the Labour Corps recruited from the British Isles were included in the rolls of British war dead published in 1921.[14] The methodology used by each nation to record and classify casualties was not uniform, a general caveat regarding casualty figures is that they cannot be considered comparable in all cases.[15]

The war involved multi-ethnic empires such as Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary and Turkey. Many ethnic groups in these territories were conscripted for military service. The casualties listed by modern borders are also included in the above table of figures for the countries that existed in 1914. The casualty figures by 1924 post war borders are rough estimates by Russian historian Vadim Erlikman in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century, the sources of his figures were published in the Soviet era and in post-Soviet Russia.[78] According to the 1914–1918 Online Encyclopedia "In addition to losses suffered by African military personnel and the laborers supporting their operations, very large, but unknown numbers of African civilians perished during the war." They made an estimate of civilian losses in Africa of 750,000 based on the study by the Vadim Erlikman. They noted that Erlikman's figures are based on the work of the Russian demographer Boris Urlanis, they noted that these estimates were "imprecise" and "could be used to provide a frame of reference for further inquiry".[26] The Oxford History of World War One notes that "In east and central Africa the harshness of the war resulted in acute shortages of food with famine in some areas, a weakening of populations, and epidemic diseases which killed hundreds of thousands of people and also cattle."[79]

The following estimates of Austrian deaths, within contemporary borders, were made by a Russian historian in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century. Total dead 175,000: including military losses 120,000 with the Austro-Hungarian forces and POW deaths in captivity of 30,000. Civilian dead due to famine and disease were 25,000.[80]

The following estimates of Belarusian deaths, within contemporary borders, were made by a Russian historian in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century. Total dead 130,000: including military losses 70,000 with the Russian forces. Civilian dead were 60,000.[81]

The following estimates of Ukrainian deaths, within contemporary borders, were made by a Russian historian in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century. Total dead 590,000: including military losses 450,000,(Erlikman did not break out military losses between Austro-Hungarian and Russian armed forces). Civilian dead were 140,000.[82]

The Belgian Congo was part of the Kingdom of Belgium during the war. A Russian historian Vadim Erlikman in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century based on sources published in the Soviet Union and Russia estimated a total of 155,000 deaths in the Belgian Congo during the war.[83]

Czechoslovakia was part of Austro-Hungary during the war. The estimates of Czechoslovak deaths within 1991 borders were made by a Russian historian in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century. Total dead 185,000: including military losses 110,000 with the Austro-Hungarian forces and POW deaths in captivity of 45,000. Civilian dead due to famine and disease were 30,000.[84] The Czechoslovak Legions fought with the armies of the Allies during the war.

Austrian memorial commemorating soldiers from the village of Obermillstatt who died in World War I

The following estimates of deaths, within contemporary borders, during World War I were made by a Russian historian Vadim Erlikman in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century. Erlikman's estimates are based on sources published in the Soviet Union and Russia.[86]

The following estimates of Georgian deaths, within contemporary borders, were made by a Russian historian in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century. Georgia was part of the Russian Empire during the war and about 150,000 Georgians served in the Russian Army. Of them about 10,000 were killed.[87]

The following estimates of deaths, within contemporary borders, during World War I were made by a Russian historian Vadim Erlikman in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century. Erlikman's estimates are based on sources published in the Soviet Union and Russia.[88]

The following estimates of Hungarian deaths, within contemporary borders, during World War I were made by a Russian historian in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century. Total dead 385,000: including military losses 270,000 with the Austro-Hungarian forces and POW deaths in captivity of 70,000. Civilian dead due to famine and disease were 45,000.[89]

Ireland was a part of the UK during World War I. Five-sixths of the island left to form the Irish Free State, now the Republic of Ireland, in 1922. A total of 206,000 Irishmen served in the British forces during the war.[90] The number of Irish deaths in the British Army recorded by the registrar general was 27,405.[91] A significant number of these casualties were from what, in 1920, became Northern Ireland. While 49,400 soldiers died serving in Irish divisions (the 10th, 16th and 36th), although not all of the men serving in these divisions were natives of Ireland and many Irish who died in non-Irish regiments are not listed.[92][93] For example, 29% of the casualties in the 16th Division were not natives of Ireland.[91] Neither does it include Irish emigrants in Britain who enlisted there and are not categorised as Irish. Australia lists 4,731 of its first World War soldiers as having been born in Ireland and more than 19,000 Irish-born soldiers served in the Canadian Corps. According to research done by John Horne of Trinity College Dublin, there are at least 30,986 soldiers who were born in Ireland that died; however, that's considered a "conservative" estimate and is very likely to raise.[94]

The losses of Portuguese Mozambique were estimated by a Russian historian Vadim Erlikman in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century. Erlikman's estimates are based on sources published in the Soviet Union and Russia.[86] 52,000

Poland was territory of Germany, Austria-Hungary and partially annexed by Russia, from 1795 to 1918. By late 1915, Germany had complete control over modern-day Poland. A 2005 Polish study estimated 3,376,800 Poles were conscripted into the armed forces of these countries during World War I, an additional 300,000 were conscripted for forced labor by the Germans. The Russians and Austrians forcibly resettled 1.6 to 1.8 million persons from the war zone in Poland.[95] According to Michael Clodfelter, Polish war dead were 1,080,000, whilst 200,000 Polish civilians were killed in the fighting on the Eastern Front; 870,000 men served in the German, Austrian and Russian armies.[16] Another estimate made by a Russian historian in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century, put total Polish war dead at 640,000, including military losses of 270,000 Poles conscripted, civilian losses of 120,000 due to military operations and 250,000 caused by famine and disease.[96] The ethnic Polish Blue Army served with the French Army. The ethnic Polish Legions fought as part of the Austro-Hungarian Army on the Eastern Front.

The territory of Transylvania was part of Austria-Hungary during World War I. The following estimates of Romanian deaths, within contemporary borders, during World War I were made by a Russian historian in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century. Total dead: 748,000, including military losses of 220,000 with the Romanian forces, 150,000 with the Austro-Hungarian forces and POW deaths in captivity of 48,000. Civilian dead were as follows due to famine and disease: 200,000, killed in military operations 120,000 and 10,000 dead in Austrian prisons.
[47]

Britain recruited Indian, Chinese, native South African, Egyptian and other overseas labour to provide logistical support in the combat theatres.[97] Included with British casualties in East Africa are the deaths of 44,911 recruited labourers.[98] The CWGC reports that nearly 2,000 workers from the Chinese Labour Corps are buried with British war dead in France.[99]

The following estimates of British Empire colonial military deaths, within contemporary borders, during World War I were made by a Russian historian Vadim Erlikman in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century. Erlikman's estimates are based on sources published in the Soviet Union and Russia.[100]

Zimbabwe(1914 known as Southern Rhodesia): 5,716 persons of European origin served in the war, of whom about 700 were killed, or died of wounds or other causes. In explicitly Rhodesian units, 127 were killed, 24 died of wounds, 101 died of disease or other causes and 294 were wounded. Of the territory's black African servicemen, 31 were killed in action, 142 died of other causes and 116 were wounded.[101]

Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Vojvodina (Now part of Serbia) were part of Austria-Hungary during World War I. Serbia, which included Macedonia, and Montenegro was an independent nation. The Yugoslav historian Vladimir Dedijer put the total losses of the Yugoslav lands at 1.9 million, of which 43% were from Serbia.[102] The following estimates of Yugoslav deaths, within 1991 borders, during World War I were made by a Russian historian in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century. Total dead: 996,000 including military losses, 260,000 with the Serbian forces, 80,000 with the Austro-Hungarian forces, 13,000 with Montenegrin forces and POW deaths in captivity of 93,000. Civilian dead were as follows due to famine and disease: 400,000, killed in military operations: 120,000 and 30,000 dead in Austrian prisons or executed.[103]

During World War I, the Nepalese army was expanded and six new regiments, totaling more than 20,000 troops—all volunteers—were sent to India, most of them to the North-West Frontier Province, to release British and Indian troops for service overseas. Simultaneously, the Nepalese government agreed to maintain recruitment at a level that would sustain the existing British Gurkha units and allow the establishment of additional ones. The battalions were increased to thirty-three with the addition of 55,000 new recruits and Gurkha units were placed at the disposal of the British high command for service on all fronts. Many volunteers were assigned to non-combat units, such as the Army Bearer Corps and the labour battalions but they also were in combat in France, Turkey, Palestine and Mesopotamia. The Rana prime ministers urged Nepalese males to fight in the war. Of the more than 200,000 Nepalese who served in the British army, there were some 20,000 Gurkha casualties included above with the British Indian Army.[104]

The conflict in East Africa caused enormous civilian casualties. The Oxford History of World War One notes that "In east and central Africa the harshness of the war resulted in acute shortages of food with famine in some areas, a weakening of populations, and epidemic diseases which killed hundreds of thousands of people and also cattle."[79] According to the 1914–1918 Online Encyclopedia "In addition to losses suffered by African military personnel and the laborers supporting their operations, very large, but unknown numbers of African civilians perished during the war." They made an estimate of civilian losses in Africa of 750,000[26] The following estimates of civilian deaths in East Africa during World War I were made by a Russian historian in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century: Kenya 30,000; Tanzania 100,000; Mozambique 50,000; Rwanda 15,000; Burundi 20,000 and the Belgian Congo 150,000.[83]

The military casualties of the UK, France, Germany, Belgium and Portugal include Africans who served with their armed forces, the details are noted above in the list of the various colonies.

Fallen British and Australian soldiers in a mass grave, dug by German soldiers, 1916 or 1917

Belgian government figures for military losses in Europe were 40,367 (26,338 killed, died of wounds or accidents and 14,029 died of disease or missing). In Africa: 2,620 soldiers were killed and 15,650 porters died. The combined total for Europe and Africa is 58,637.[28]

United States War Dept. figures for Belgium are: Total mobilized force 267,000; total casualties 93,061 including killed and died 13,716; wounded 44,686; Prisoners and missing 34,659.[31]

The report of the UK War Office listed 93,061 casualties up until 11 November 1918 including 13,716 killed and died; 24,456 missing; 44,686 wounded and 10,208 POW. "These figures are approximate only, the records being incomplete."[34]

The Soviet demographer Boris Urlanis estimated that included in total Belgian military deaths are 35,000 killed and died of wounds[106]

Civilian deaths according to Belgian government statistics were 23,700 (6,000 killed in the 1914 German massacres and 17,700 victims in prisons, deportations and by military tribunals).[28] According to a demographic study, there were 92,000 indirect deaths in Belgium (62,000 deaths due to wartime privations and 30,000 in the Spanish flu pandemic).[30] John Horne estimated that 6,500 Belgian and French civilians were killed in German reprisals.[107]

According to the Canadian War Museum Close to 61,000 Canadians were killed during the war, and another 172,000 were wounded. The small colony of Newfoundland suffered 1,305 killed and several thousand wounded. The Canadian Expeditionary Force lost 59,544 in the war, including 51,748 due to enemy action; the Royal Canadian Navy reported 150 deaths from all causes and 1,388 Canadians died while serving with the British Flying Services.[108]

French casualty figures up until 1 June 1919 were listed in a French government report of 1 August 1919 presented to the French Chamber of Deputies.[110] Total Army dead and missing up until 11 November 1918 were 1,357,800; in addition there were 28,600 deaths after 11 November 1918 of those wounded and 11,400 Navy dead which brings total dead and missing to 1,397,800. These figures include 35,200 French Colonial Forces, 35,900 "north Africans" and 4,600 French Foreign Legion personnel.[35]

According to the French Army official report "La Statistique médicale de l'armée" Total dead were 1,325,000 (675,000 killed in action, 225,000 missing and prisoners killed, 250,000 died of wounds and 175,000 died of disease.)[111]

A breakdown of French casualties published in the Official History of the Australian Army Medical Services, 1914–1918 lists 674,700 killed in action, 250,000 died of wounds, 225,300 missing and presumed dead and 175,000 dead from disease and injury. Wounded amounted to 2,300,000.[33]

United States War Dept. figures for French casualties are: Total mobilized force 8,410,000; total casualties 6,160,800 including killed and died: 1,357,800, wounded: 4,266,000, prisoners and missing: 537,000.[31]

The UK War Office put French dead, killed and missing at 1,385,300 dead and missing, including 58,000 colonial soldiers up until 1 November 1918. They noted that a government report of 1 August 1919, listed the number of killed and died at 1,357,000. There were no figures available of the wounded.[34]

The names of the soldiers who died for France during World War I are listed on-line by the French government.[112]

The Soviet demographer Boris Urlanis estimated that included in total French military deaths are 1,126,000 killed and died of wounds.[106]

According to the French encyclopedia Quid 30–40,000 foreign volunteers from about 40 nationalities served in the French army, including 12,000 with the Czechoslovak Legion and the ethnic Polish Blue Army; 5,000 Italians served in a "Legion" commanded by Colonel Garibaldi. There were also 1,000 Spaniards and 1,500 Swiss in French service, 200 American volunteers served with the French from 1914 to 1916, including the Lafayette Escadrille.[113] Luxembourg was occupied by Germany during the war. According to the Mobile Reference travel Guide 3,700 Luxembourg citizens served in the French armed forces, 2,800 gave their lives in the war. They are commemorated at the Gëlle Fra in Luxembourg.[114] The French Armenian Legion served as part of the French armed forces during the war. French colonies, such as Algeria and Vietnam, also sent troops to fight and serve on the battlefront. American military historian Douglas Porch reported of the French Foreign Legion, in which most non-French nationals served, that some estimates put Legion casualties during the war as high as 31,000 of the 44,150 men who served in the Legion, a 70 per cent casualty rate.[115]

According to a demographic study, there were 500,000 indirect deaths in France (300,000 deaths due to wartime privations and 200,000 in the Spanish flu pandemic).[116] Another estimate of the demographic loss of the civilian population in the France during the war, put total excess deaths at 264,000 to 284,000, not including an additional 100,000 to 120,000 Spanish flu deaths.[117] Civilian dead include 1,509 merchant sailors and 3,357 killed in air attacks and long range artillery bombardments[118]

The report of the UK War Office listed 64,449 Army war dead, 69,214 wounded and 11,264 taken prisoner, these figures include British serving in the Indian Army (2,393 dead, 2,325 wounded and 194 taken prisoner).[18]

The Soviet demographer Boris Urlanis estimated that included in total Indian military deaths are 27,000 killed and died of wounds.[120]

The Italian government put military war deaths at 651,000 (killed in action or died of wounds 378,000; died of disease 186,000 plus an additional 87,000 deaths of invalids from 12 November 1918 until 30 April 1920, due to war related injuries.) These official figures were published in an Italian study of war losses by G. Mortara, however he estimated actual losses until the war's end in Nov. 1918, at 600,000 (400,000 killed or died of wounds and 200,000 deaths due to disease).[41] A brief summary of data from this study can be found online.[122]

United States War Dept. figures for Italian casualties are: Total mobilized force 5,615,000; total casualties 2,197,000 (killed and died 650,000; wounded 947,000; prisoners and missing 600,000).[31]

The report of the UK War Office listed 1,937,000 casualties up until 11 November 1918 (460,000 dead; 947,000 wounded and 530,000 prisoners).[34]

The Soviet demographer Boris Urlanis estimated that included in total Italian military deaths are 433,000 killed and died of wounds.[106]

According to a demographic study there were 1,021,000 indirect deaths in Italy (589,000 deaths due to wartime privations and 432,000 in the Spanish flu pandemic).[43] Another estimate of the demographic loss of the civilian population in the Italy during the war, put total excess deaths at 324,000 not including an additional 300,000 Spanish flu deaths.[123] Civilian deaths due to military action were 3,400 (including 2,293 by attacks on shipping, 965 during air raids and 142 by sea bombardment).[124]

An academic journal published in Newfoundland has given the details of Newfoundland's military casualties. Fatalities totaled 1,570 The Royal Newfoundland Regiment suffered 1,297 dead; there were an additional 171 dead in the Royal Navy and 101 in the Merchant Navy.[23]

United States War Dept. figures for Portuguese casualties are: total mobilized force 100,000; total casualties 33,291 (including killed and died 7,222; wounded 13,751; prisoners and missing 12,318).[31]

The report of the UK War Office listed 33,291 casualties: 7,222 dead (1,689 in Europe and 5,533 in Africa); 13,751 wounded (figure for Europe only) and 12,318 prisoners and missing (6,678 in Europe and "a large number of missing in Mozambique).[34]

United States War Dept. figures for Romanian casualties are: total mobilized force 750,000; total casualties 535,706 (including killed and died 335,706; wounded 120,000; prisoners and missing 80,000).[31]

The report of the UK War Office listed military casualties of 335,706 killed or missing. In addition 265,000 civilians were killed or missing.[38]

The Soviet demographer Boris Urlanis estimated that included in total Romanian military deaths are 177,000 killed and died of wounds.[106]

According to a demographic study there were 430,000 indirect deaths in Romania due to wartime privations.[128]

A Russian historian in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century estimated 330,000 civilian dead (120,000 due to military activity, 10,000 as prisoners and 200,000 caused by famine and disease).[129]

According to the Soviet demographer Boris Urlanis the sources for Russian casualties are difficult to ascertain. Casualty figures, compiled from the field reports during the war, were published in 1925 by the Soviet Central Statistical office[130] They put Russia's total losses at 775,400 dead and missing, 348,500 disabled and 3,343,900 POW. Those evacuated to the rear area were 1,425,000 sick and 2,844,500 wounded. Included in these figures are battle casualties of 7,036,087. (626,440 killed in action, 17,174 died of wounds, 228,838 missing, 3,409,433 held as prisoners of war and 2,754,202 wounded in action).[131][132] Urlanis believes that the figures for those killed were considerably underestimated, because a large part of the reports were lost in retreats. Urlanis estimated the actual total military war dead at 1,811,000 (killed 1,200,000, died of wounds 240,000, gassed 11,000, died from disease 155,000, POW deaths 190,000, deaths due to accidents and other causes 15,000).[106]

A study by the Russian military historian G.F. Krivosheev estimated the total war dead at 2,254,369 (killed in action 1,200,000; missing and presumed dead 439,369; died of wounds 240,000, gassed 11,000, died from disease 155,000, POW deaths 190,000, deaths due to accidents and other causes 19,000). Wounded 3,749,000. POW 3,343,900. Total mobilized force 15,378,000.[49]

United States War Dept. figures for Russian casualties are: Total mobilized force 12,000,000. Total casualties 9,150,000 (including Killed and died 1,700,000, wounded 4,950,000, prisoners and missing 2,500,000).[31]

The UK War Office Based on a telegram from Petrograd to Copenhagen in December 1918 listed military casualties of 9,150,000 (including 1,700,000 killed, 1,450,000 disabled, 3,500,000 wounded and 2,500,000 POW).[38]

According to the Soviet demographer Boris Urlanis there were 1,500,000 civilian deaths due to wartime privations up until the end of 1917.[133]

A Russian historian in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century estimated 1,140,000 war related Russian civilian deaths, from 1914 to 1917 in 1914 borders (410,000 due to military operations and 730,000 caused by famine and disease).[134]

Sources for total Serbian casualties range from 750,000 to 1,250,000.[51][135]

A demographic study in 1927, put total the war dead for Serbia and Montenegro at 750,000 (300,000 military and 450,000 civilians). The overall population loss from 1912 to 1920, based on the pre-war level was 1,236,000 persons (including 750,000 in World War I; 150,000 killed in the Balkan Wars and a decline in the number of births of 336,000), in addition there were 47,000 war related deaths during 1914–1920, that are included with deaths by natural causes.[51]

According to Frédéric Le Moal, Serbian historian Dušan T. Bataković puts their losses at 1,250,000 (450,000 military and 800,000 civilians). These losses are from 1912 to 1918 and include the Balkan Wars.[135] In July 2014, Serbian poet and academic Matija Bećković said "that 402,435 Serbian soldiers have been killed and 845,000 civilians hanged or exterminated in concentration camps during WWI.[136] At a September 2014 conference sponsored by the Serbian Ministry of Defense, Dr. Alexander Nedok put Serbian war dead at 1,247,435 persons.[137]

According to the Soviet demographer Boris Urlanis regarding Serbia "it is particularly difficult to ascertain the number of killed". Based on a demographic analysis of the population, Urlanis estimated total Serbian and Montenegrin casualties of 728,000 including military dead: 278,000 (140,000 killed in action; 25,000 died of wounds; 50,000 disease; 60,000 POW and 3,000 from other causes) and total civilian dead of 450,000.[138]

United States War Dept. figures for Serbian casualties are: total mobilized force 707,343; total casualties 331,106 (including killed and died 45,000; wounded 133,148; prisoners and missing 152,958).[31]

The report of the UK War Office listed military casualties of 331,106 including 45,000 killed, 133,148 wounded and 70,243 prisoners and 82,535 missing.[38]

A Russian historian in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century, estimated 120,000 Serbian civilian deaths due to military activity and 30,000 executed (казнено и убито) by the Austro-Hungarians. His estimate for total Yugoslav civilian casualties including Austro-Hungarian territory was 550,000.[139]

^s1 UK military casualties were reported separately by branch of service: Total of 744,000 dead and missing from the British Isles: Army 702,410 "soldiers";[18] Royal Navy 32,287[141] and Royal Air Force 9,378[142] The UK government in 1924 put total military dead at 743,702[44] Total of 1,675,000 wounded from the British Isles: Army 1,662,625 "soldiers";[18] Royal Navy 5,135[141] and Royal Air Force 7,245[142]

There are three published official figures for army deaths. One: official figures issued by the British Army in 1921 put their losses at 673,375 dead and missing from all causes in combat theaters.[143] Two: the summary in the 1922 report of the War Office put army and Royal Naval Division dead from the British Isles at 702,410.[18] The authors of the War Office report did not explain the difference between their figures and the official figures issued in 1921 by the British army, however the difference is more than likely due to the inclusion of the Royal Naval Division and deaths outside of combat theaters.[144][145] Three: the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database available online identifies by name 758,000 army dead, not including the Royal Naval Division[146]

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission in 2014 listed 887,858 war dead for the UK and Colonies.[9] This figure also includes the British Mercantile Marine and conscripted civilian laborers from Africa and Asia.[147] According to The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, their statistics are representative of the number of names commemorated for all servicemen/women whose death was attributable to their war service, they do not list the cause of death for these casualties. They do not break down UK losses between the British Isles and the various colonies. The website of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database lists the names of many of the UK war dead. Access to the database is open to the general public free of charge. These figures include deaths of forces from the UK and Colonies excluding the Dominions and include deaths that occurred after the war up until 31 August 1921.[146] The CWGC figures include military dead outside of combat theaters and civilian workers conscripted outside of the UK in British military service.[12]

The report of the UK War Office listed a summary figures from 4 August 1914 up until 31 December 1920 for the army from the British Isles, not including other colonies of 702,410 war dead, 1,662,625 wounded and 170,389 taken prisoner of war. The War Office report lists those "killed in action; died of wounds; died as prisoners of war and missing officers and other ranks whose deaths have been accepted for official purposes".[18] According to the report these figures include the casualties of the army and the Royal Naval Division.[148]

Reported separately were Royal Navy casualties of 32,287 dead and missing and 5,135 wounded.[149] These figures do not include an additional 14,661 British Mercantile Marine dead.[149]

The figures for the Royal Naval Division were 7,547 killed and 2,584 died of wounds.[151]

A compilation published by the authority of the War Office in 1920–21 Soldiers died in the great war, 1914–1919, listed war 673,000 Army war dead, not including the Royal Flying Corps.[14]

The official "final and corrected" casualty figures for British army, including the Territorial Force, were issued on 10 March 1921, in a British parliamentary report. The losses were for the period 4 August 1914 until 30 September 1919, included 573,507 "killed in action, died from wounds and died of other causes"; 254,176 missing and prisoners less 154,308 released prisoners; for a net total of 673,375 dead and missing. There were 1,643,469 wounded also listed in the report.[143]

The details by theater of war:

France- 510,821 "killed in action, died from wounds and died of other causes"; 1,524,332 wounded and 236,573 missing (including prisoners).[143]

Italy- 2,081 "killed in action, died from wounds and died of other causes"; 4,689 wounded and 344 missing (including prisoners).[143]

Dardanelles- 16,688 "killed in action, died from wounds and died of other causes", 47,128 wounded and 7,525 missing (including prisoners).[143]

Salonika- 9,668 "killed in action, died from wounds and died of other causes", 16,637 wounded and 2,778 missing (including prisoners).[143]

Mesopotamia- 15,230 "killed in action, died from wounds and died of other causes"; 19,449 wounded and 3,581 missing (including prisoners).[143]

Egypt- 14,763 "killed in action, died from wounds and died of other causes"; 29,434 wounded and 2,951 missing (including prisoners).[143]

East Africa- 1,269 "killed in action, died from wounds and died of other causes"; 534 wounded and 62 missing (including prisoners).[143]

Afghanistan- 120 "killed in action, died from wounds and died of other causes"; 152 wounded and 2 missing (including prisoners).[143]

Russia- 359 "killed in action, died from wounds and died of other causes"; 453 wounded and 143 missing (including prisoners).[143]

Other Theaters- 508 "killed in action, died from wounds and died of other causes"; 461 wounded and 217 missing (including prisoners).[143]

United States War Dept. figures for total British Empire casualties including the UK were: total mobilized force 8,904,467; total casualties 3,190,255 (including killed and died: 908,371; wounded: 2,090,212; prisoners and missing 191,652).[31]

The Soviet demographer Boris Urlanis estimated that included in total UK military deaths are 624,000 killed or missing in action and died of wounds.[106]

According to a demographic study, there were 292,000 indirect deaths in the UK (109,000 deaths due to wartime privations and 183,000 in the Spanish flu pandemic).[25] Another estimate of the demographic loss of the civilian population in the UK during the war, put total excess deaths at 181,000 not including an additional 100,000 Spanish flu deaths.[152] The 1922 War Office report detailed the deaths of 1,260 civilians and 310 military personnel due to air and sea bombardment of the UK[153] Losses at sea were 908 UK civilians and 63 fisherman killed in U-Boat attacks.[24]

Overseas labor units serving with the British and French forces. The UK employed about 300,000 Indian, Chinese, native South African, Egyptian and other nations as laborers during the war. By the end of 1917, there were 50,000 Chinese workers in France, rising to 96,000 by August 1918 (with another 30,000 working for the French). 100,000 Egyptians were working in France and the Middle East, alongside 21,000 Indians and 20,000 South Africans, who were also in East Africa.[12] A total of about 140,000 Chinese workers recruited in the Beiyang government, served on the Western Front during and after the war with the British and French Armed Forces.[154][155] According to the Commonwealth war Graves Commission "In all, nearly 2,000 men from the Chinese Labour Corps died during the First World War, some as a direct result of enemy action, or of wounds received in the course of their duties, but many more in the influenza epidemic that swept Europe in 1918–19"[13] One historical controversy is the number who died in the war. Some Chinese scholars say the number was as high as 20,000 but records kept by the British and French recruiters, show just under 2,000 lost their lives, many from the flu pandemic that swept the world starting in 1919.[156] According to the Commonwealrh War Graves Commission, "The African combatant troops raised for the East African campaign numbered 34,000. The non-combatant porters, stevedores and followers of the Military Labour Corps 600,000. Almost 50,000 of these men were lost, killed in action died of sickness or wounds"[11] According to The Africa Research Institute official British figures the death toll exceeded 105,000 native African troops and military carriers[157]

US Dept. of Defense figures from 2010, list 116,516 war dead from all causes for the period ending 31 December 1918, including 106,378 in the Army, 7,287 in the Navy and 2,851 in the Marine Corps. There were 53,402 battle deaths, including 50,510 in the Army, 431 in the navy and 2,461 in the Marines. There were 63,114 non-combat deaths, 55,868 in the Army, 6,856 in the Navy and 390 in the Marines. Wounded: 204,002 (Army: 193,663, Navy: 819, Marines: 9,520).[54] The figures include 279 deaths during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War from 1918 to 1920.[158] The U.S. casualty figures were revised by the US Dept. of Defense in 1957.[31] The US Coast Guard lost 192 dead (111 deaths in action and 81 from other causes).[55][159]

United States War Dept. figures from 1924 for U.S. casualties were: total mobilized force 4,355,000; total casualties 350,300 (including killed and died from all causes 126,000; wounded 234,300 (including 14,500 died of wounds); prisoners and missing 4,500).[160]

United States War Dept. figures for Austro-Hungarian casualties are: total mobilized force 7,800,000; total casualties 7,020,000 (including killed and died 1,200,000; wounded 3,620,000; prisoners and missing 2,200,000).[31]

The UK War Office estimate for Austro-Hungarian casualties up to 31 December 1918: total casualties of 7,020,000 including 1,200,000 killed, 3,620,000 wounded and 2,200,000 prisoners.[18] Preliminary figures up to the end of May 1918, given by the U. K. Director of Military Intelligence give the following estimated totals: 800,000 killed, 1,800,000 prisoners/missing, and 3,200,000 wounded/sick, for a total of 5,800,000. An additional 80,000 killed, 320,000 wounded/sick, and 20,000 prisoners are estimated in the Austrian offensive against Italy from 1 June to 24 October 1918. At the same time there 72,500 casualties on the Balkans and Western Fronts. Finally, during the last Italian offensive the prisoners claimed by the Italians amounted to 448,000, while a further 30,000 Austro-Hungarians were killed and 50,000 wounded.[162]

The Soviet demographer Boris Urlanis estimated that included in total Austro-Hungarian military deaths are 900,000 killed and died of wounds.[106]

United States War Dept. figures for Bulgarian casualties are: total mobilized force 1,200,000; total casualties 266,919 (including Killed and died 87,500; wounded 152,930; Prisoners and missing 27,029).[31]

The UK War Office listed casualties reported by the Bulgarian War Office: 87,500 total dead (48,917 killed, 13,198 died of wounds, 888? accidentally killed, 24,497 died of disease); 13,729 missing; 152,390 wounded and 10,623 prisoners. The Bulgarian War Office stated that "losses during the retreat from sickness and privations were much greater than the figures they possess".[18]

In 1934 the official German war history listed 2,037,000 military dead.[161] Confirmed dead from all causes 1,936,897 (Army 1,900,876, Navy 34,836, Colonial troops 1,185); wounded 4,215,662; prisoners and missing 974,977 of which an estimated 100,000 were presumed dead.[66]-

United States War Dept. figures for German casualties are: total mobilized force 11,000,000; total casualties 7,142,558 (including Killed and died 1,773,700; wounded 4,216,058; prisoners and missing 1,152,800).[31]

The UK War Office listed official German figures from 1921 of 1,808,545 killed and 4,247,143 wounded, exclusive of 14,000 African conscript deaths during the war.[163]

The Soviet demographer Boris Urlanis estimated that included in total German military deaths are 1,796,000 killed and died of wounds.[106]

The UK War Office listed official German figures from 1919 of 720 German civilians who were killed by allied air raids.[164]

The figures for civilian deaths due to the Blockade of Germany are disputed. The German Board of Public Health in December 1918 maintained that 763,000 German civilians died from malnutrition and disease caused by the blockade up until the end of December 1918.[70][71][165] A German academic study in 1928 put the death toll at 424,000.[166] A study sponsored by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 1940, estimated the German civilian death toll due to the war at over 600,000. Based on the above-mentioned German study of 1928, they maintained that "A thorough inquiry has led to the conclusion that the number of "civilian" deaths traceable to the war was 424,000, to which number must be added about 200,000 deaths caused by the influenza epidemic".[69]

The Ottoman official casualty statistics published in 1922 were: total dead 325,000 including (killed in action 50,000, 35,000 died of wounds, 240,000 died of disease). Wounded 400,000. POWs, sick and missing 1,565,000 and total mobilized: 2,850,000.[169]

United States War Dept. figures for Ottoman casualties are: total mobilized force 2,850,000; total casualties 975,000 (including killed and died 325,000; wounded 400,000; prisoners and missing 250,000).[31]

The UK War Office figures for Ottoman casualties were: total accounted for 725,000 (killed 50,000, died of wounds 35,000, died of disease 400,000, wounded 400,000). Total unaccounted for: 1,565,000 (prisoners, deserters, invalids and missing).[163]

The Soviet demographer Boris Urlanis estimated that included in total Ottoman military deaths are 318,000 killed and died of wounds.[106]

Estimates of Ottoman civilian casualties in western sources range from 2,000,000 to 2,150,000.[37][170][171][172] A Russian historian in a 2004 handbook of human losses in the 20th century estimated total Ottoman civilian dead from 1915 to 1918 at about 3.2 million including the deaths of 2.2 million Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek victims of genocides committed by the Ottomans and 1,000,000 war-related civilian deaths in the Ottoman Empire due to famine and disease.(In current borders Turkey 500,000; Syria 160,000; Lebanon 110,000; Iraq 150,000; Israel/Palestine 35,000 and Jordan 20,000)[173] According to the BBC 200,000 persons perished in the Great Famine of Mount Lebanon during the war.[174]

Civilian casualties include the Armenian Genocide. The total number of resulting Armenian deaths is generally held to have been 1.5 million.[74] Other ethnic groups were similarly attacked by the Ottoman Empire during this period, including Assyrians and Greeks. Some scholars consider those events to be part of the same policy of extermination.[175][176][177] The overwhelming majority of historians as well as academic institutions on Holocaust and Genocide Studies recognize the Armenian Genocide.[178][179][180][181] "Despite the vast amount of evidence that points to the historical reality of the Armenian Genocide, eyewitness accounts, official archives, photographic evidence, the reports of diplomats, and the testimony of survivors, denial of the Armenian Genocide by successive regimes in Turkey has gone on from 1915 to the present".[182]

Denmark was neutral in the war but Germany at that time included part of Danish Schleswig. Men from this area were conscripted into the German forces and their losses are included with German casualties. Over 700 Danish merchant sailors and fisherman died, mostly due to vessels torpedoed by German submarines.[76]

The Danish National Archives estimated the losses of Danes in the German forces at 6,000[183]

Norway was neutral in the war but lost ships and merchant sailors in trading through the war zones. Norway is at times referred to as the Neutral Ally due to its close relationship with the United Kingdom during the war. In 1924, the Norwegian government in a reply to a questionnaire from the International Labour Office, an agency of the League of Nations, reported 1,180 persons dead and missing in World War I.[44]

Sweden was neutral in the war but lost ships and merchant sailors in trading through the war zones. In 1924, the Swedish government in a reply to a questionnaire from the International Labour Office, an agency of the League of Nations, reported 800 persons dead and missing in World War I.[44]

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Annual Report 2014–2015[9] provides current statistics on the military dead for the British Empire. The war dead totals listed in the report are based on the research by the CWGC to identify and commemorate Commonwealth war dead. The statistics tabulated by The Commonwealth War Graves Commission are representative of the number of names commemorated for all servicemen/women of the Armed Forces of the Commonwealth and former UK Dependencies, whose death was attributable to their war service. Some auxiliary and civilian organizations are also accorded war grave status if death occurred under certain specified conditions. For the purposes of CWGC the dates of inclusion for Commonwealth War Dead are 4 August 1914 to 31 August 1921. Total World War I dead were 1,116,371 (UK and former colonies 887,711; Undivided India 73,895; Canada 64,997; Australia 62,123; New Zealand 18,053; South Africa 9,592). The Commonwealth War Graves Commission figures also include the Merchant Navy.

Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire During the Great War 1914–1920, The War Office March 1922.[34] This official report lists Army casualties (including Royal Naval Division) of 908,371 killed in action, died of wounds, died as prisoners of war and were missing in action from 4 August 1914 to 31 December 1920, (British Isles 702,410; India 64,449; Canada 56,639; Australia 59,330; New Zealand 16,711; South Africa 7,121 and Newfoundland 1,204, other colonies 507).[148] Figures of the Royal Navy war dead and missing of 32,287 were listed separately.[141] These figures do not include the Merchant Navy dead of 14,661.[18] The losses of France, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Greece, Russia, the USA, Bulgaria, Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey were also listed in the UK War Office report.[34]

The official "final and corrected" casualty figures for British Army, including the Territorial Force (not including allied British Empire forces) were issued on 10 March 1921. The losses were for the period 4 August 1914 until 30 September 1919, included 573,507 "killed in action, died from wounds and died of other causes"; 254,176 missing less 154,308 released prisoners; for a net total of 673,375 dead and missing. There were 1,643,469 wounded also listed in the report.[184]

Sources for British Empire casualties are divergent and contradictory. The report of the War Office published in 1922 put the total number of British Empire "soldiers who lost their lives" at 908,371.[185] On a separate schedule the War Office listed the losses of the Royal Navy at 32,237 dead and missing.[186] It is implicit in this presentation that the figures for "soldiers who lost their lives" do not include the Royal Navy. However many published reference works list total British Empire(including the Dominions) losses at 908,371, it is implicit in these presentations that the figures for total losses include the Royal Navy.[6][7][8]

The War Office report puts the number of "soldiers who lost their lives" from the British Regular Army and Royal Naval Division at 702,410.[185] This is not in agreement with the "final and corrected" figures in the 1921 report for the army published in the General Annual Report of the British Army 1912–1919, which put British Army dead and missing at 673,375 and the official compilation of Army war dead published in 1921 that put total losses at about 673,000.[184][187] The War Office report did not explain the reason for this discrepancy; the difference is more than likely due to their inclusion of the Royal Naval Division and deaths outside of combat theaters.[145]

Casualties and Medical Statistics published in 1931.[188][189] was the final volume of the Official Medical History of the War, gives British Empire, including the Dominions, for Army losses by cause of death. Total war dead in combat theaters from 1914 to 1918 were 876,084, which included 418,361 killed, 167,172 died of wounds, 113,173 died of disease or injury, 161,046 missing and presumed dead and 16,332 prisoner of war deaths. Also listed were 2,004,976 wounded and 6,074,552 sick and injured.[190] Total losses were not broken out for the UK and each Dominion, the figures are for losses in combat theaters only and do not include casualties of forces stationed in the UK from accidents or disease, casualties of the Royal Naval Division are also not included in these figures; the losses of the Gallipoli Campaign are for British forces only, since records for Dominion forces were incomplete.[98] Figures do not include the Royal Navy.

Military Casualties–World War–Estimated," Statistics Branch, General Staff, U.S. War Department, 25 February 1924. This report prepared by the U.S. War Department estimated the casualties of the belligerents in the war. The figures from this report are listed in the Encyclopædia Britannica and often cited in historical literature.[31]

Huber, Michel La Population de la France pendant la guerre, Paris 1931.[110] This study published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, lists official French government figures for war-related military deaths and missing of France and its colonies.

Mortara, Giorgo La Salute pubblica in Italia durante e dopo la Guerra, New Haven: Yale University Press 1925.[191] The official government Italian statistics on war dead are listed here. A brief summary of data from this report can be found online. go to Vol 13, No. 15

The demographer Boris Urlanis, analysis of the military dead for the belligerents in the war including his estimates for the combat related deaths included in total deaths.[106]

The Belgian government published statistics on their war losses in the Annuaire statistique de la Belgique et du Congo Belge 1915–1919[28]

Grebler, Leo and Winkler, Wilhelm The Cost of the World War to Germany and Austria-Hungary This study published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace details the losses of Austria-Hungary and Germany in the war.[192]

Hersch, Liebmann, La mortalité causée par la guerre mondiale, Metron. The International Review of Statistics, 1927, Vol 7. No 1. This study published in an academic journal, detailed the demographic impact of the war on France, the UK, Italy, Belgium, Portugal, Serbia, Romania and Greece. The total estimated increase in the number of civilian deaths due to the war was 2,171,000, not including an additional 984,000 Spanish flu deaths. These losses were due primarily wartime privations.[194]

Dumas, Samuel (1923). Losses of Life Caused by War published by Oxford University Press. This study detailed the impact of the war on the civilian population. The study estimated excess civilian deaths at: France (264,000 to 284,000), the UK (181,000), Italy (324,000) and Germany(692,000).[195]

^The War Office (1922). Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire During the Great War 1914–1920. Reprinted by Naval & Military Press p.355. ISBN978-1-84734-681-0.

^Urlanis, Boris (1971). Wars and Population. Moscow page 85, The demographer Boris Urlanis put total German war dead at 2,037,000, he estimated that the figure included 1,796,000 men killed, dead from wounds and gas poisoning.

^The War Office (1922). Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire During the Great War 1914–1920. Reprinted by Naval & Military Press. p. 678. ISBN978-1-84734-681-0.(Civilians killed by Allied bombing)

^ abGrebler, Leo (1940). The Cost of the World War to Germany and Austria-Hungary. Yale University Press. 1940 Page78

^ abcH.A. Jones, War in the Air. (Appendices). Being The Story of the Part Played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force p. 160 (this is the official history of the RFC and the RAF from 1914 to 1918

^ abcdefghijklThe Army Council. General Annual Report of the British Army 1912–1919. Parliamentary Paper 1921, XX, Cmd.1193., PartIV p. 62–72

^Douglas Jerrold, Royal Naval Division (1923) p. 338 The figures for the Royal Naval Division were 7,547 killed and 2,584 died of wounds

^ abDumas, Samuel (1923). Losses of Life Caused by War. Oxford. p. 139 "From Dr. T.H.C. Stevenson of the General Register Office, London, I received privately the following figures. There were also about 19,000 deaths among troops not connected with any of the expeditionary forces"

^The War Office (1922). Statistics of the Military Effort of the British Empire During the Great War 1914–1920. Reprinted by Naval & Military Press. p. 678. ISBN978-1-84734-681-0.

^Germany. Gesundheits-Amt. Schaedigung der deutschen Volkskraft durch die feindliche Blockade. Denkschrift des Reichsgesundheitsamtes, Dezember 1918. (Parallel English translation) Injuries inflicted to the German national strength through the enemy blockade. Memorial of the German Board of Public Health, 27 December 1918 [Berlin, Reichsdruckerei,] The report notes on page 17 that the figures for the second half of 1918 were estimates based on the first half of 1918.

Cabanes Bruno. August 1914: France, the Great War, and a Month That Changed the World Forever (2016) argues that the extremely high casualty rate in very first month of fighting permanently transformed France.